Jane Doe
by Forever Fairy
Summary: People and things appear in Olivia's life that suggest Olivia isn't who she thinks she is. *story completed*
1. Chapter 1

From: unknown@personalmail.net  
To: Baker@personalmail.net  
Subject: (unknown)  
Date: April 5, 2003  
Received from: 776.287.2973  
Message:  
Subject located. Waiting for orders.  
  
From: Baker@personalmail.net  
To: unknown@personalmail.net  
Subject: (unknown)  
Date: April 5, 2003  
Received from 239.872.8654  
Message:  
Credulous girl. She cannot escape. Watch her until further notice.  
Olivia Benson stepped out of her apartment and breathed in the sweet morning air. The ground was moist and she thanked her slight heels for keeping the hem of her pants dry. As if on cue, a car pulled up and the driver side window came down.  
  
"Hey Liv, want a ride?" Elliot Stabler's voice cut through the icy air. Olivia smiled gratefully. "Yeah. Thanks." She rounded the car and hopped into the passenger seat.  
  
"You look like crap," Elliot noted as he pulled away from the curb. Olivia rolled her eyes. "I don't care," she replied, but still flipped open the visor mirror nonetheless. Her brown eyes were rimmed in red and her hair was a mess, despite her running a brush quickly through it.  
  
Closing the visor, Olivia smoothed down her frizzy hair thoughtfully as she thought about the despised night before. Insomnia was a killer.  
  
As if reading her mind, Elliot said, "Rough night last night, huh?"  
  
Olivia scoffed. "Yeah well, if it wasn't for the phone ringing off the hook before I unplugged it, it was the neighbors heavy metal on full blast, and when they finally got tired and went to bed, it was the people downstairs drilling hoes in their walls. Who does construction work on their houses at 4 o'clock in the morning?" She rubbed her eyes.  
  
"Aw, sorry. Hey, maybe an exciting day of chasing down rapists and pedophiles will wake you up." Elliot replied as he stopped at a red light.  
  
Olivia was about to respond when she looked out the window and saw an elderly man watching them. His face was terrifyingly familiar and his gaze was cool. He stared directly into the car at Olivia, his gaze didn't waver as she stared back.  
  
Elliot looked over to her and noticed her eyes fixated on something outside. "What?"  
  
"That guy is staring at me," Olivia mumbled, frowning.   
  
Elliot looked at the guy and raised an eyebrow. "Want me to run him over?" He joked.  
  
"If the light doesn't change soon, you're gonna have to." The man's expression was disturbing. He stared at her as if she knew something that she wasn't supposed to. Chills ran down her spine.  
  
"Elliot, go. Run the light or something, this guy is freaking me out," Olivia begged with Elliot, eliminating the pleading voice that wanted to come out. Instead, Elliot just rolled down Olivia's window.  
  
"Hey, you got a problem or something?" Elliot yelled out at the guy. The man's expressionless mouth curled up in a small sneer. "Keep your eyes on people your own age!"  
  
The man nodded his graying head slightly. The light turned green at that instant and Eliot pulled quickly away, creeped out by this guy.  
  
"We're watching you, Katarina!" The ma shouted after them. Olivia moved to roll up the window, but froze. Katarina? Why was that name familiar? Why was *he* familiar?  
  
Olivia struggled against her seatbelt to turn around. The elderly man was still standing there, the sneer plastered on his face as he watched the car drive away.  
  
"Katarina," She whispered to herself. "Scottsdale. Katarina. Montgomery."  
  
Elliot tore his eyes away from the road to flash Olivia a strange look. "What?"  
  
Olivia frowned. She was beginning to scare herself. Where had those words come from?  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all," She mumbled. 


	2. Chapter 2

After the weird incident that morning, Olivia was relieved when the rest of the day went relatively normal from there. As normal as a day catching criminals goes. So as she filled out her last piece of paperwork, Olivia dropped her pen and sighed in relief. She settled back in her chair, eyes closed, when she heard Elliot's voice.  
  
"Hey. Need a ride home?"  
  
Olivia opened her eyes and shook her head. "No, Elliot. That's okay, but thanks."  
  
"Are you sure? It's not very safe out there at night."  
  
Olivia smiled up at him sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'm a big girl now. With a gun. I can take care of myself."  
  
"All right then. I'll see you tomorrow." Elliot waved as he turned to leave. Olivia watched him go, her stomach churning, and she wondered if she should've accepted that ride.  
  
"G'night, Olivia," Cragen passed by her desk. Olivia barely nodded. She was deep in thought, curiously pondering what had happened that morning.  
  
Cragen turned when she didn't answer. He watched her serious frown for a moment before asking, "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Huh?" Olivia forced herself out of her daze. "Oh yeah. Sure, I'm fine."  
  
"Because if you're not, I can take five minutes to talk," He said, sitting on the corner of her desk.  
  
Olivia folded her hands under her chin and stared at the smooth wood surface of her desk. "Today I had a little… déjà vu I guess you could say, but it's like… these words came to my head and I don't know what they mean. But I feel like I should. Ever feel like that?"  
  
"Um… no, I can't say that I have…" Cragen watched her disappointed face. "I don't know how much I can help you there. The only thing that I can tell you is that you should follow your instincts. If it's something that really bothers you, follow up on it. It'll make you feel better to find out what it's all about."  
  
Olivia nodded. His words made sense, she just wasn't sure how well they'd work for her. "Thanks Captain."  
  
Cragen nodded. He shot her one last worried glance. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye." Olivia sat at her desk for several minutes. The room was nearly empty and the hallway was dark. She decided to leave before she was the last one there.  
  
As soon as she left the building and stepped out onto the street, an overwhelming feeling that someone was watching her swept over. She looked around suspiciously, but saw nobody. She shook her head and cleared her throat.  
  
*Stop scaring yourself,* She scolded.   
  
Olivia hadn't gone all of two blocks when she heard the footsteps behind her. She sped up and heard as the footsteps followed her every move. She slowly reached for her gun, but before she could grasp it, someone stepped in front of her from a dark alley.  
Olivia gasped as the man grabbed her arms and held them tight. It was the same man who had been watching her that morning. The person who was following her grabbed her gun and pressed it to her head. The two unknown people led her into the alley.  
  
*Oh God, please help me,* She begged for mercy, unsure of what was going to happen.  
  
After walking several feet into the alley, the man and the other person stopped. The other person stepped out from behind Olivia and she could see that it was a younger man. She tried to move her hands but her wrists were tied together with a sharp cord.  
  
"Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?" Olivia asked, struggling to free herself and to keep the fear out of her voice.   
  
"You mustn't play dumb, Katarina," The older man said in the same creepy voice she had heard that morning. "We've been following you for years. We know who you are."  
  
"Katarina? I don't know who you're looking for, but I'm not Katarina," Olivia's voice was finally beginning to shake.  
  
"Really now? Scottsdale, Arizona? Does that mean anything to you?" The younger man asked coldly.  
  
Olivia frowned. *Scottsdale. Katarina. Montgomery.* Her thoughts floated back to her.  
  
"N-No," She stuttered, lying pathetically.  
  
"The murder. We know you saw it. You and your mother Yvonne. You saw the murder. Then you ran to the cops and they protected you. They changed your name. They moved you up here to New York. For thirty years, my son and I have been trying to track you down.  
  
"I'm going to be frank here, Ms. Montgomery," the elderly man continued. *Montgomery?* Olivia thought to herself, horrified.  
  
"Our boss wants you. You know something and we can't let you live while it's in your head..."  
  
As Olivia felt the chills rippling through her body, a blinding flash of light and a familiar voice yelling suddenly burst through the thick atmosphere. "Freeze! Police! Let her go!"  
  
*Elliot?* She thought to herself, partially confused, partially thankful for his presence.  
  
The two men didn't hesitate. They took off down the alley. Elliot ran after the two men. Fin, who was also with Elliot, his gun also drawn, raced to Olivia and untied her hands. She was shaking almost violently.  
  
"Olivia? You all right?" He asked as he loosened the cord.   
  
"Y-yeah. I'm fine."  
  
Elliot jogged back over to the two of them, sounding and looking out of breath. "They split up. I couldn't catch them. Are you okay, Liv? Did they hurt you?"  
  
"No," She said, but she wasn't so sure about it. Maybe this whole thing was just a brainwash. They were trying to scare her into thinking she was Katarina Montgomery from Scottsdale, Arizona. Or maybe they really did think that she was Katarina.  
  
"How did you find me?" Olivia asked, beginning to calm herself down as Fin and Elliot led her to Elliot's car, which was waiting at the end of the alley.   
  
"I got a bad feeling, so I turned around. I saw those guys drag you into the alley. Fin was following behind," Elliot said.  
  
"Yeah, I was leaving the precinct when you were and I saw that guy following you, so I followed him. I wasn't sure if he was armed or not, so I just waited until he did something. Elliot showed up right when they brought you into the alley. We had to wait a minute when we saw that they had your gun."  
  
"I guess being a big girl with a gun doesn't mean you're always safe," Elliot said. It sounded like one of the biggest ironies Olivia had heard, but his voice was dead serious.  
  
"Common, let's get you back to the station. We can take your statement and get a sketch artist in there," Fin said. Elliot put a hand on Olivia's shoulder and led her to his car.  
  
*I don't know who Katarina Montgomery is. And I'm not her,* Olivia tried desperately to convince herself, but she still wasn't so sure. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hours slipped by as Olivia sat at the station, stifling yawns and answering questions about the two mystery men who she encountered that night. She looked at her watch. It was well past 2 in the morning. She sighed. It had been four hours since she had first tried to leave, but now she was right back where she started: at work.  
  
"What can you tell me about the men who kidnapped you?" One of the young investigators, Daniel Hathaway, asked Olivia for what seemed like the billionth time.  
  
She sighed heavily and leaved forward onto the desk, looking directly into his eyes. "One was an older man with graying hair and brown eyes and the other one was a younger male with brown hair and brown eyes and the older man addressed the other as his son, just like I've been telling you all night," She replied irritably.  
  
Elliot, who had been sitting next to her throughout the entire night, reached over and touched her shoulder. "Hey. Just relax a little, okay?"  
  
Olivia nodded and leaned back against the chair again. Hathaway nodded. "Any distinctive marks that could eliminate more than half the population of New York?" He asked, sounding sarcastic as he dropped his notepad on the table.  
  
From the lack of sleep for the past 24 hours mixed with the raw emotions of confusion, Olivia snapped. She leapt out of her seat, swept her hand across the table and in one swift movement managed to knock the notepad off the table and knock the investigator off balance in his own seat.   
  
"For the hundredth time tonight, they had what sounded like Russian accents! That's all, nothing else, do you get the picture now?"  
  
The room was silent as Hathaway stared at Olivia as if he were afraid and if she were crazy. Elliot stood up slowly and put both hands on Olivia's shoulders. "It's okay, Liv. Just sit down," He murmured calmly. She slowly sat in her chair, her icy glare never wavering from the investigator's face.  
  
"Can I go home now?" She asked in a relatively steady voice.  
  
"We, uh, we have to wait for the sketch artist to arrive..." The investigator's eyes nervously flicked between Elliot and Olivia. Olivia's eyes were now blank she was so irritated. "You mean the one that we've been waiting four hours for? Why don't you all get off your lazy asses and find these sons of bitches before he goes off accusing other innocent people of being someone they're not and trying to kill them for it."  
  
Elliot and Hathaway both exchanged surprised glances. "What do you mean trying to kill them for it? Did they say something?"  
  
Olivia sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "They might have, I can't really remember... something like... I can't live knowing something or whatever..."  
  
"Olivia, this could be really serious in the investigation," Elliot said gently and cautiously, trying not to scold the already upset detective. "Why didn't you tell us before?"  
  
"Because I forgot about it until now," She replied simply. Hathaway sat back and stared at her. "Why are you withholding information, detective? Is there something that you don't want us to know?"  
  
Olivia opened her mouth, about to shoot back angrily, but Elliot answered for her. "My partner has nothing to hide," He said sounding equally as calm as before.  
  
Hathaway looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Really? Because that little bit about this guy telling her that she shouldn't live knowing something is probably one of the most important factors in this case..."  
  
"All right, that's it. I'm done." Olivia jumped out of her seat and headed towards the door. Elliot leapt in front of her just in time. "Olivia, you need to stay and tell us..."  
  
"No, you know what Elliot, I don't need some rookie telling me how to do my job!" She shot Hathaway and chilly, defiant stare. "I know what I'm doing! I didn't withhold anything intentionally, so why can't you all just get off my case?" With that, she pushed past Elliot and slammed the door behind her on the way out.  
  
Elliot turned back to Hathaway who was waiting patiently. "I'm sorry, she's not normally like this."  
  
"Like a little five year old brat throwing a tantrum? Well, I sure hope not because that's really going to give the NYPD a bad reputation."  
  
It was Elliot's turn to get annoyed. "Look here rookie, my partner has been a detective for years and she's damn good at it. Don't insult her because you haven't seen the crap that we have." Elliot closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm himself.  
  
Hathaway put up a hand. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I guess we're all just a little cranky tonight."  
  
Elliot nodded. "Yeah. If that's all, I'm going to go find my partner. You better get your ass out there and find that sketch artist." Elliot turned and left the room quickly before Hathaway could get another word in.  
After storming out of the room like a child, Olivia found herself on the restroom floor sobbing hysterically. Maybe it was just lack of sleep that was getting her so emotional. But she doubted it was the lack of sleep that was bringing back all the memories that were flooding her brain.  
  
They were strange memories. Ones of her and her mother standing in a police station, her mother looking around nervously. Or of them being given some sort of paperwork to fill out, but she was too little to understand what they were for. The worst part of it was remembering being called Katarina.   
  
"They called me Kitty because I loved cats," she whispered to herself, brushing her tears away from her eyes. Where all this knowledge of a life that she didn't know of was coming from, she had no clue.  
  
A sharp knock on the door rattled her out of her dysfunctional state. "Yes?" She called out, failing miserably to hide the shaking in her voice. "Liv? It's me." She sighed when she heard Elliot's voice.  
  
"Go away Elliot. I want to be alone," she replied exhaustedly as she leaned her head against the cold wall.   
  
"Please come out, Liv. Hathaway's getting the sketch artist in here, he'll be here any minute. I promise. Common out, it's all right."  
  
"No it's not," She whispered to herself, closing her eyes. Frightening images were filling her head. Ones of her and her mother hiding and being scared. Olivia could remember crying and hearing her mother whispering, "It's okay Kitty. Mommy's got you, it's okay now."  
  
*I am Katarina Montgomery. My mother was Yvonne Montgomery. I was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and lived there until we saw the murder...*  
  
"No! Stop it! I'm not! I'm not her!" Olivia cried out loud, covering her ears as if to block out the sound of her own voice in her own mind.   
  
"Olivia? What's wrong? Common Liv, open the door!" Elliot pounded on the door louder and began to try to coax her out more frantically. But Olivia couldn't hear him. All she could hear were her terrified sobs and that name echoing through her head.  
  
Katarina Montgomery. 


	4. Chapter 4

Elliot banged his fists against the door. "Olivia! Open the door!" He screamed. People were beginning to gather around, watching him oddly as he twisted the door handle to the women's restroom as hard as he could to no avail.  
  
He stopped for a moment, but her sobs were too strong for him to not do anything about it. He stepped back and with one sharp kick, the door swung open.  
  
His eyes instantly fell on Olivia huddled in a corner, hugging her knees and crying hysterically. He fell to her side. "Common, Olivia, common," He murmured softly, coaxing her to her feet. She struggled weakly against him, but eventually gave in.  
  
They walked out of the restroom, Elliot supporting her as they walked to her desk. He shot the crowd that had gathered a quick glare and they quickly dispersed.  
  
He brought Olivia to her desk and helped her sit down. She sobbed and wiped away a few stray tears. "Olivia, what happened?" Elliot asked, squatting down in front of her and taking her hands into his.  
  
She looked down at him painfully. "Katarina Montgomery. Scottsdale, Arizona. Yvonne. Murder," she blubbered.  
  
"What? Liv, you're not making any sense here..."  
  
No sooner had the words left Elliot's mouth than did the dazed look left Olivia's eyes. She blinked and stared at him in confusion. "Huh?"  
  
Elliot just looked into her eyes, worried and unsure of what was happening. "Liv, maybe you should go home and get some rest. We can talk to the sketch artist tomor..."  
  
"I'm here, sorry I'm late!" Anthony Gregory, one of the sketch artists, rushed into the room in a flurry. "Who's the witness?"  
  
Elliot and Olivia looked at each other. "I am," Olivia said softly. Anthony looked over the top of his heavy rimmed glasses at her. "Oh, Detective Benson, I remember you. It was that one case with the little girl who went missing a couple months ago."  
  
Olivia nodded, not really interested. "Can we just get this over with?"  
  
Anthony nodded. "Sure. Do we have a place to go?"  
  
Elliot stood up and led them into the interrogation room. At least it would be quiet.  
  
"So why didn't you just use one of your own sketch artists instead of calling in one from another department?" Anthony asked Olivia, sharpening his pencil. Olivia shrugged. "I don't know. Can we just cut the crap and do this?"  
  
Anthony made a face. "Uh, sure," He replied, setting the large paper pad on the table. "So, tell me about these guys."  
  
Elliot and Cragen watched from the other end of the two-way mirror as Olivia, bored to death, described in vague detail the first man she had seen. "She needs to get with it, Elliot," Cragen said to him. "We can't just go with hair and eye color here."  
  
"I know, but... Captain, I need to talk to you about something," Elliot turned his back on the window and sighed.  
  
Cragen watched him thoughtfully. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Olivia was in the bathroom. She was on the floor, freaking out. I heard her saying something about Katarina Montgomery. That was the name the guy called her this morning..."  
  
"Wait, what guy?"  
  
"The one Olivia's talking about," Elliot looked over his shoulder at Olivia. "I was driving her to work this morning and we stopped at a red light. The older guy Olivia's talking about what staring at her. I rolled down the window and told him to quit staring, because it was really starting to scare her. He said something like, 'we're watching you Katarina' as we drove away. And then she said some weird things, something about Scottsdale and then Montgomery. Then I hear her talking about Katarina Montgomery and..."  
  
Cragen nodded. "Well, this just went from weird to weirder."  
  
Elliot nodded. "Yeah. I know."  
  
"Well, when she gets done with the sketch artist, have her go to the crib and get some sleep. I'd send her home but with these maniacs on the loose tonight I don't think she's safe to do so."  
  
Once Olivia was done with the sketch artist and asleep in the crib, Elliot, Fin, Munch and Cragen got to work investigating the mystery men and their boss, along with Yvonne and Katarina Montgomery.  
  
Hours and hours passed and soon, it was seven AM. With all four men exhausted and at a dead end, it was a relief when Munch came up with something.  
  
"Think I got something on our mystery girl and her mom. But I don't think it's an answer any of you want to hear," he announced, eyeing the other detectives cautiously.  
  
Elliot and Fin hurried to Munch's desk and searched the computer screen. "What is it?" Elliot asked.  
  
"Yvonne and Katarina Montgomery are recorded as deceased in the Scottsdale records," Munch said. Cragen stopped him. "I hope you called and got the city's approval before you went searching through their files," He said warningly. Munch made a slight face. "Yes, I did. Don't worry."  
  
"Okay, so then that means Olivia isn't Katarina Montgomery," Elliot said. Munch shook his head. "I'm not finished." He opened another window and up popped the NYC files.  
  
"I also did some checking on Olivia and her mom here in New York. I found the first file on them when Olivia was four."  
  
"Why aren't there any files for either of them before then?" Fin asked. Munch opened the other window again. "I'm still not finished. I checked the dates on the death records for Yvonne and Katarina and the birth records for Serena and Olivia. The birth record was first inserted into the database the same day that Yvonne and Katarina's death certificates were inserted."  
  
The men were silent. Elliot was the first to speak. "So... why weren't Olivia and her mom's birth records in there before then?"  
  
"I called around to see if I could find out. Said it was for an investigation. Scottsdale put me through to the FBI up here. They said that Yvonne and Katarina Montgomery were put under the WPP as Serena and Olivia Benson."  
  
"What?"  
  
The four men turned at the sound of Olivia's voice. Her face displayed a look of horror. Elliot stepped forward. "Olivia..."  
  
"So everything that I thought I was... is a lie?" Her brown eyes dropped to the floor and searched it frantically as if looking for answers.  
  
"Olivia, they put you in the witness protection program because you and your mom saw a murder," Munch said. "The men that are after you killed someone."  
  
Olivia gave him a timid glance. "Who?"  
  
"Your father." 


	5. Chapter 5

Olivia was sitting in a chair, just staring at Munch, mouth open in shock. The guys had to physically move her themselves after hearing the news and she's been sitting in shock for a good minute now.  
  
"Olivia? Are you okay?" Elliot brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Olivia shook her head, the look on her face breaking Elliot's heart. "No. I... I'm not even who I thought I was."  
  
Elliot took her hand and knelt down in front of her. "No, don't say that. No matter what your name is or was, you are always the same person, okay?"  
  
Olivia just stared at him. "Elliot, I just found out that my mom and I have been living a total lie for thirty years. And my father... I thought my father was..."  
  
Munch shook his head. "Well, that's one thing that your mom told the truth about. Your mom was raped and-"  
  
"Then how was my father killed when I was four in Scottsdale, Arizona?" Olivia broke in, perplexed and exhausted.  
  
"It wasn't your biological father. Or at least I don't think. It was your mom's husband. They'd been married for a year when he was killed. I found their marriage certificate. His name was Ruben Burke."  
  
"Okay, so the only thing that's true about me is the one thing that's tortured me my whole life," Olivia leaned back in the chair and rubbed her tired eyes. This was not the news she was expecting.  
  
"So what's the deal? Anyone know why Ruben Burke was killed?" Fin asked, mainly directed at Munch.  
  
Munch shrugged. "No, I've been looking through his files. The guy was totally clean. Model citizen, paid his taxes, was a program writer for a respectable software company... no police record, nothing. I have no idea why someone would want to kill him.  
  
"Maybe it was revenge? Someone at the software company could've lost their position to him or something. What was the name of the company? We'll check it out," Elliot said, rising to his feet.  
  
Munch raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna go all the way to Arizona to interrogate people who may have no connection whatsoever for the sake of a dead guy?"  
  
Elliot's voice was firm and his face was certain. "I'm not doing it for the sake of a dead guy, I'm doing it for the sake of Olivia. And yeah, I'll go all the way to Arizona to do it."  
  
Olivia looked up at him and squeezed his hand with a small smile. It was comforting to know that she had a friend who would do anything for her. She hoped that she had the courage to do the same for him if he ever needed her to.  
  
Cragen frowned. "Elliot, even if we find a connection, this was over thirty years ago. The odds of someone still working there who would know anything about this guy are really slim."  
  
"We're gonna have to take the risk then," Fin stated as firm as Elliot had, moving behind Olivia. "If Elliot goes, so do I. We gotta stop these bastards. They've already gone after Olivia once, they'll do it again."  
  
"Or Katarina. That's who they think she is, right?" Munch asked.  
  
*Olivia. Katarina. Is there even a difference?* Olivia thought bitterly. It was strange to think of herself as someone other than Olivia Benson, but the truth was ringing through her head like a church bell.  
  
"Okay, fine. The company is TechLabs Arizona. It's in downtown Scottsdale."  
  
Within the hour, Elliot, Fin, Munch and Olivia had boarded a plane and were headed for Scottsdale, Arizona. She leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes.  
  
*Going back home to the home I never knew,* She thought sadly to herself. *I left as Katarina. I'm coming back as Olivia.*  
  
From: unknown@personalmail.net To: Baker@personalmail.net Subject: (unknown) Date: April 7, 2003 Received from: 776.287.2973 Message: We tried to get her, but they came and got her. We had to leave. They're heading home now.  
  
From: Baker@personalmail.net To: Unknown@personalmail.net Subject: (unknown) Date: April 7, 2003 Received from: 239.872.8654 Message: When she gets to Scottsdale, lead her to the house. I'll take care of the rest. Katarina cannot escape.  
  
By the time the detectives had reached Arizona, the sketches of the perps had been released privately to the neighborhood near the precinct and half of the NYPD was on alert for the two men.  
  
"We've gotten about twelve police harassment complaints in the last hour," Cragen said to Elliot over the phone, sounding annoyed. "We can't just question every elderly man in New York. We need to get more from Olivia."  
  
"But she says that there was nothing else she noticed about the guys," Elliot protested. "What else can we do?"  
  
"Well, you said that you were stopped at that red light for several seconds. What did you notice about the older man?"  
  
Elliot sighed. "Well, he was older, graying hair, brown eyes. I don't know, everything Olivia said."  
  
"Okay, well. what about clothing? What was he wearing?"  
  
"A black business suit. Pretty typical for New York though, don't you think?"  
  
Elliot could hear Cragen exhale heavily on the other end of the phone. "Common Elliot, think. We need more information. How about last night? What did you notice about them then?"  
  
"Besides the fact that they were both good sprinters, nothing."  
  
"So they were in good physical health?"  
  
"I'd say so." Elliot looked at his watch, and then looked through the crowds to Munch, Fin and Olivia, standing with their luggage, waiting for him to get off the phone. "They were both wearing suits then, too. We're looking for other leads. I'll call you as soon as we find anything."  
  
The two hung up and Elliot joined the other detectives. "Common, we got to go get some rooms before we go talk to the company employees," Munch said. "There's over five hundred employees and over three hundred of them have been there for thirty years plus."  
  
"Wow. People don't get out much anymore," Elliot muttered. "All right, let's go."  
  
"Kitty! Kitty!"  
  
Olivia turned with a frown. The woman behind her was screaming. "Kitty!"  
  
"What?" Olivia asked the woman. The woman looked at Olivia, confused. "I-I can't find my daughter. I'm sorry, is your name Kitty too?"  
  
Elliot, Munch and Fin looked at Olivia. Olivia frowned. She raised a hand to her forehead and rubbed furiously. "No."  
  
"Mommy!"  
  
As the four detectives turned to leave, they heard the little girl called Kitty run up to her mother. Olivia watched the mother and daughter hug tightly and she sighed. This was going to be a long day.  
  
LOL if you paid close attention, this chapter had a line that I jacked from The Matrix: "Program writer for a respectable software company". Lame line, but it fit in pretty well, didn't it? Hehe. 


	6. Chapter 6

Marin- LOL! No, I don't even watch Dharma and Greg! I should add: any relations to other TV shows are purely coincidential! :)  
It took less than 45 minutes for the three to meet the cab they had waiting for them, go to their motel and get back on the road again, heading towards TechLabs Arizona. Elliot checked his watch and breathed deeply, knowing it was going to be hell trying to find someone who would know anything about Ruben Burke. *But we have to try,* He thought determinedly. *For Olivia.*  
  
When they arrived at the lab, the four detectives decided to slit their work up between them. "All right, Munch and I will start with the 30 plus year employees on the first two floors. Why don't you and Olivia take the third and fourth? We'll meet up when we're done with our floors," Fin shot Munch a look that said, 'Are you satisfied or do I need to change everything for you?'  
  
Munch shrugged. "Yeah fine with me. Olivia and Elliot will probably have the best luck up there since the fourth floor is where Ruben worked."  
  
Olivia seemed to shy away from that idea, but decided against refusing. They had just spent the past several hours on a plane to do this. "Oh... okay."   
  
FIn nodded. "All right then. We'll call you as soon as we find anything."  
  
"Yeah. Same." Elliot turned to Olivia. "You okay?" He asked. Olivia forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's just do this, okay?"  
  
Elliot nodded. "Okay." The two detectives paced to the elevator and hit the up arrow. As the door slid open, the stepped aside to let some people exit the elevator before stepping inside. A woman who looked about fifty was standing shyly in the corner, out of the way. Elliot touched the button for the fourth floor. Olivia's stomach turned as the elevator went up. Maybe it was just the speed of the nauseating lift, but Olivia suspected that it was because this was probably the same elevator that her stepfather rode on his way to work. Before his murder.  
  
"I don't know what we're hoping to find," Olivia mumbled to Elliot. He turned to her and responded back quietly, "We're trying to find a motive for Ruben Burke's murder. You're his stepdaughter, so this could have something to do with you."  
  
"Um... excuse me? I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I thought I heard you say that you're Ruben Burke's step daughter." The woman, dressed in a gray business suit, stepped forward, timidly toward Elliot and Olivia.  
  
Elliot nodded and the two detectives flashed their badges. "NYPD. What information do you have on Ruben Burke, ma'am?" Elliot asked, slipping his badge away into his coat.  
  
The woman shrugged. "He was a nice guy. Worked here over thirty years ago. He designed the programs and I helped to sell them. He had been married for about a year when he was killed. He was always talking about his stepdaughter, Katarina. Said she was the most beautiful little girl in the world," The woman smiled as if reliving a distant memory. Olivia looked down at her feet as the woman said, "That must make you Kitty, then."  
  
"No."  
  
The woman looked surprised. "No? Oh, well, I didn't know if Ruben had been married before..."  
  
"What do you know about his death?" Elliot interrupted the woman's inquiring, much to Olivia's relief.  
  
The woman frowned. "Well, he just didn't show up one day. The police officers who came by the day he died said it was accidental death. Ruben had been shot in the head by his own gun."  
  
"And they ruled it accidental? Are you sure?" Olivia frowned, questioning the woman. She shook her head. "I-I don't know, that's what the police told the people who worked in his department."  
  
"Did you?" Elliot asked as the elevator came to a stop on the fourth floor. The door opened and the three stepped out. "For a while. I was promoted right after Ruben's death."  
  
"Can you point us in the direction of anyone who worked with Ruben before his death?"  
  
The woman nodded. "Yeah, um, just about everyone on the fourth floor. This company has good retirement benefits, so many of the people are working towards it."  
  
"And what's your name?"  
  
"Cheryl. Cheryl Benson."  
  
Olivia and Elliot exchanged glances. "Um, yes thank you... Mrs. Benson," Elliot nodded as he and Olivia turned the opposite direction of Cheryl.  
  
"Cheryl Benson? This just keeps getting stranger by the second," Elliot mumbled to Olivia. Olivia just remained silent. "Let's just get this over with." 


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay. I blame the state of Washington! Darn testing!! Oh, and to all of the people who wanted romance, what happens in here is probably the most that you'll get. I've gotten too many people saying no to it. But maybe I'll do another fic with more romance. Who knows? ;)  
  
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The night sky was twinkling with bright stars and the moon was laying motionless amongst them when the detectives finished their questioning. The last few people were trickling out of the building. Munch sighed and stretched lazily as they exited the building, greeted by a blast of warm night air. "Guess we start piecing together everything we found," He muttered.  
  
"Most all of what we found was basically stuff we already knew. Ruben was killed by his own gun. It was probably a suicide." Fin said as the four walked out to the cab they'd called. The four crammed themselves in the backseat, squished and uncomfortable.  
"No, I don't think so," Elliot said. "Why else would these guys be coming after Olivia if it wasn't a murder?"  
  
"Maybe we should go talk to the ME who did the autopsy," Munch replied. "We can call the uniforms when we get back to the hotel."  
  
As soon as they arrived in their hotel rooms and called the Scottsdale Police, they were promptly out the door again. "That was fast," Olivia mumbled, yawning as the four cramped into the back of another cab. "Yeah, I think their precinct was waiting for our call. They had all the information right there as soon as we called," Munch informed them.  
  
Minutes later, they arrived at the ME's office. Luckily for them, the ME who had performed the autopsy on Ruben Burke was still there. The four detectives flashed their badges to Dr. Anderson, who was sitting patiently at her desk. She nodded. "I got a call from the police saying to expect you. You want the files on Ruben Burke, correct?"  
  
"Right. We need any information on him that you have," Fin said. Dr. Anderson nodded and slid in her swivel chair over to the filing cabinet behind her. She shuffled a bit until she found what she was looking for. "Burke, Ruben. Here we are." She handed Fin the file. Olivia read over his shoulder.  
  
"Says it was a homicide," Fin announced, flipping through the file. "How did you determine that?"  
  
"The bullet entry was through the back. There was no entry or exit wounds in the front, so he was obviously shot trying to run away."  
  
"Yeah, must've been running away pretty frantically. I says here that he had scraped on his knees and palms," Olivia pointed to a line of text.   
  
"So it was a definite homicide," Munch said. "Now we find out why."  
  
"Was there anything on Mr. Burke, or any indication that there would be a reason for killing him?" Elliot asked. Dr. Anderson frowned and took the file back from Fin. She sifted through it for a moment, and then shook her head. "From what I recorded, all that was on him was his wallet. It contained five 100-dollar bills, and a few credit cards. There was no ID, and the only prints on it were his."  
  
"Well, maybe he got mugged and the thief made him take his money," Elliot suggested. Dr. Anderson shook her head. "I don't think so. I remember wondering why the thief would only take his ID and leave five hundred dollars along with seven credit cards with unlimited accounts."  
  
"Wow, sounds like Mr. Burke was living pretty good," Munch commented.   
  
"How do you know that the perp took his ID?" Olivia asked.  
  
"The police found the ID the next day in the same place where the body was found," Dr. Anderson said. "They scoured that place over and over the night before and they didn't find anything. Whoever stole the ID put it right back where they found it after they were done."  
  
"Is that about it?" Munch asked. Dr. Anderson shook her head. "There was one more thing. The day after Ruben Burke was killed, I got an order from the police department to sign two fake death certificates. I didn't ask any questions, but they did tell me that the two people killed were related to Ruben Burke."  
  
The four detectives exchanged glances. "Thanks for your time," Olivia muttered, her worst fears confirmed. It was all true. She really wasn't who she thought.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
The exhausted quartet managed to call a cab and stumble up to their respective hotel rooms before collapsing into a tired heap. Yet despite her fatigue, Olivia couldn't sleep. She lay awake, her pounding head resting against the soft pillow as she stared into the darkness. It was all beginning to make sense. All the times that her mother had lied to her, the way her past was so sketchy.   
  
She flipped onto her back, not trying to stop the tears that began to stream down her pale cheeks. She was so confused. Nothing made sense anymore. She tried once again to close her eyes and block out all of the painful secrets that were being revealed, and as she was just about to fall asleep, there was a soft knocking on the door. Olivia's eyes opened, still damp from her tears. She sat up.  
  
"Who is it?" She called out, her voice cracking. There was no answer. Groaning in annoyance, Olivia pulled back the covers and padded her way across the carpeted floor. She pressed her ear against the door and listened for any movement. She heard none. Her heart jumped into her throat.  
  
"Who is it?" Her voice was raised an octave. Panic flooded her heart. This was too familiar. It was a mirror image to the time when she was stalked by Eric Plummer and ended up with a body on her doorstep.  
  
Olivia threw open the door. Expecting not to see anyone, she jumped and screamed when she saw a figure in the door. She wished at that moment that she'd had enough sense to grab her gun. The darkness blinded her and she felt two hands cling her wrists tightly.   
  
"No! No, let go!" Olivia tried to fight back, but her exhaustion weakened her force.   
  
"Olivia! Olivia, it's me!"   
  
Olivia stopped flailing and gasped, flustered. "Elliot?"  
  
She could swear that she could feel Elliot's blue eyes burning into her worriedly, even through the darkness. Sobs wracked her body. She collapsed out of relief and pure fatigue into his arms. Her body was shaking so violently, that Elliot began to worry even more.  
  
"Hey, hey Liv it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," He murmured, stroking her hair back from her damp forehead. Moments passed before Olivia finally pulled away. She sniffled and wiped away her tears. She managed a small wry laugh. "What were you trying to do, give me a heart attack or something?"  
  
"No, I didn't hear you say anything. I figured that you were asleep," Elliot's arms refused to untangle from her body.   
  
"I asked if anyone was there," She muttered, brushing away a tear.   
  
"You must've said it quietly because I didn't hear you."  
  
Another several minutes passed before the two made their way into Olivia's hotel room. Elliot flicked on the light switch and the two of them blinked rapidly as the intense light flooded their vision.   
  
Olivia's breathing began to even out and she slowly made her way to the bed where she sank down. Elliot flowed her and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"  
  
She shook her head. "I'm so confused Elliot-"   
  
That was all she needed to say for her to break down again. Elliot's arms tightened protectively around her and cradled her close. He glanced at the clock. The night was so long, and yet he didn't seem to mind at the moment. 


	8. Chapter 8

Jane Doe Chapter 8  
  
Olivia was alarmed when she woke the next morning and saw Elliot beside her. It took her a moment to shake out of her daze enough to remember him knocking at her door and her hysterical outburst.  
  
She shifted a bit, trying to free her foot from the painful tingle that overwhelmed it, and woke Elliot in the process. "Morning," He said, yawning and sitting up. His hair was rumpled, as well as his clothes from lying in an awkward position on Olivia's bed.  
  
"How'd you sleep?" He asked her casually, as if it was totally normal waking up in his partner's bed. Olivia turned her back on him and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Fine," she said hoarsely. Olivia's cell phone blared loudly. They both jumped. Olivia practically leapt off the bed and ran to the phone, eager to get away from the peculiar situation she'd found herself in.  
  
"Benson," She answered. "Hey, where's Elliot? We've been pounding on his door and calling his cell all morning."  
  
Olivia turned and looked over at Elliot. "Oh, he came over early this morning, Munch. We were, uh, going over all the stuff that we found yesterday." Elliot raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as if to say, "Is it about me?"  
  
Olivia nodded and turned away again. "Yeah. Uh huh. Okay John, we'll be right down." Olivia flipped her phone down and set it on the table. "Munch says they got a lead. We have to get down to the lobby and meet up with him and Fin."  
  
Elliot nodded. "All right. See you down there." Within minutes, he was out the door. Olivia stood silent for a moment before shaking her head and sighing. This day couldn't get any stranger.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
However, Olivia could always be wrong about those things.   
  
"We found a Ms. Fiona Burke, Ruben's younger sister, this morning. We called her up and she agreed to talk to us."  
  
"How'd you find her?" Elliot asked. Fin and Munch looked at each other. "Don't even ask," Fin replied, rolling his eyes. "Great," Elliot mumbled.  
  
After making a few calls to some cab companies, the four detectives got two cabs (learning from their previous mistakes) and followed one another out to a small suburb, where Fiona Burke lived.  
  
"Ruben was a great person," Fiona said as she poured four coffee mugs full of steaming coffee, an offer that the tired detectives eagerly accepted. "He was a hard worker. And he loved his family."  
  
"His family, meaning Yvonne and Katarina, correct?" Munch asked. Fiona nodded and fell silent. She looked up at Olivia and smiled. "You know, you really remind me of Kitty," she said softly.  
  
Olivia gulped nervously. "Really?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Fiona smile widened a little and she nodded again. "You have her eyes. I remember she had really dark eyes and they always seemed kind of sad. I never figured out why. It was so sad when she died."  
  
The room fell silent. Olivia looked down into her coffee mug and wished that she could disappear. "So, why are you investigating Ruben, anyway? I mean, you are with the NYPD, right? I heard you correctly?"  
  
Fin nodded. "Yeah. We're tying up some loose ends in the investigation."  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, what sort of loose ends?" Fiona asked curiously.  
  
"We suspect that Katarina might still be alive," Olivia jumped in quickly, instantly regretting the words that came out of her mouth. Fin, Munch and Elliot all looked at her, surprised that she'd just blurted out the information like that.  
  
*Oh please floor, just swallow me up and eat me for breakfast now,* She pleaded in her mind. She could feel a deep flush creeping across her cheeks.   
  
"Katarina... she's still alive?" Fiona asked, sounding shocked and excited.  
  
"We don't know for sure," Fin broke in quickly. "That's why we're here. We want to know how Ruben was killed."  
  
Fiona sighed, the enthusiasm gone from her face. "It was terrible. Someone shot him in a street and left him for dead."  
  
"Do you know if there was anyone who would've wanted Ruben dead? Did any red flags pop up with any of his friends at work?" Elliot asked.  
  
Fiona thought for a moment. "Well, there was this one man. His name was Jimmy."  
  
Elliot instantly whipped out his notepad and a pen. "Jimmy what?"  
  
"Derkins."  
  
"And what was going on with this Jimmy Derkins?" Munch asked as Elliot scribbled down the notes. Olivia just remained silent.  
  
"He would come to Ruben's house early in the morning and harass him. Said he'd cheated him out of a promotion or something silly like that. But who knew with Jimmy, he was always drunk."  
  
"Early in the morning, meaning what? Like, 3 or 4 AM?" Elliot asked, not looking up from his pad.  
  
"Uh... yeah, about," Fiona answered, thinking for a moment and then nodding her head in confirmation. "Yvonne would call me in a panic, saying that Jimmy was back and she was afraid of what was going to happen."  
  
"We went to TechLabs where your brother used to work, there was no Jimmy Derkins there," Fin said.  
  
Fiona laughed lightly. "Well, of course not," She said. "Jimmy Derkins has been in a mental facility for over thirty years."  
  
All four detectives, including the subdued Olivia, looked up at Fiona, suddenly interested. "A mental facility? What for?" Elliot asked.  
  
Fiona paused as if deciding whether she should talk or not. "Well, Ruben called the police every time that Jimmy would come around. Finally, he got a restraining order, afraid for Yvonne and Katarina, but it didn't do any good. Jimmy just kept coming around." Fiona closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"The cops got at least five complaints about him breaking his restraining order, but every time they went to arrest him, they couldn't find him. The last time Jimmy showed up, Ruben followed him home in his car. Jimmy went to this little shack just outside of the city, and Ruben called the police from there."  
  
"And what happened next?" Munch asked.  
  
"The police showed up and arrested him."  
  
Elliot, Fin, Munch and Olivia exchanged glances. "So, what does that have to do with him going to a mental hospital?" Fin asked.  
  
Fiona looked up at them, her eyes dark and almost frightened. "Inside the shack, there were pictures," She started slowly. "Hundreds of pictures that he took of Ruben, Yvonne and Kitty at random times. They realized that Jimmy had been stalking them. So they took him to a shrink, who pronounced him insane. They sent him to a mental facility." She gulped nervously. "I hear that he kept having outbursts, going crazy, saying that he was going to kill Ruben. So, they decided that he was a danger to society and chose to keep him forever."  
  
The room fell silent for what felt like an eternity. Fin, Elliot and Munch all looked over to Olivia, who's face was pale. She was shaking slightly.   
  
"One more thing, Ms. Burke," Elliot asked quietly. "Do you know what hospital Jimmy Derkins is living at?"  
  
Fiona nodded. "Howell Mountain Hospital. On the other side of the city. I moved as far away from there as I could."  
  
*********************************************************************************  
  
The four walked out of Fiona Burke's house and began walking down the street, deciding to walk off their jitters for a moment. It was all too creepy.  
  
"That was too creepy," Munch said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Elliot and Fin nodded, not saying a word. Elliot glanced at Olivia who was still looking pale. But there was something new on her face. A look of terror.  
  
"Liv? What is it?" Elliot asked, touching her arm and stopping dead on the sidewalk. Munch and Fin also stopped.   
  
"I remember him," She said softly, looking up at her co-workers. "I remember Jimmy Derkins. I was afraid of him because he was always hanging around the house. He had this crazy look in his eyes. Mom would never allow me to play outside alone because of him."  
  
Olivia turned her eyes to Elliot. They looked plain sad instead of afraid. "I guess that means it's true," She said, deadpan. "I really am Katarina Montgomery."  
  
Elliot sighed and put a hand on her back. Fin rubbed her shoulder and Munch just gave her a sad smile. Wiping away a tear, Olivia leaned on Elliot for support, suddenly feeling weak. The four walked in silence, not able to erase the memory of what had been said from their minds. 


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter's rated somewhere around PG-13 for language, depending on what you consider to be PG-13 material. I'd rate it an R, but I don't think it's quite that bad.  
  
Olivia stared up at the tall hospital, unwilling to let herself be afraid of what was inside. She knew that inside was the monster that had probably killed her stepfather and made her and her mother change lives, but she still refrained from showing any fear.  
  
Elliot came up behind her after paying the cabbie. He sighed. "I really think that we need to get a rental car," Munch said, seeing Elliot. Elliot rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, my wallet's liking this whole cab thing a lot better."  
  
"Are we ready to go in?" Elliot looked to Olivia. Her steady brown eyes held a look of courage and Elliot felt a sudden swell of pride in her. She nodded. "Let's go."  
  
The wide automatic doors opened and the detectives stepped in. Glancing around, Elliot led the group over to the receptionist, who was on the phone. "Excuse me, we need Jimmy Derkins's room please," He said, flashing his badge alongside Munch, Fin and Olivia. The receptionist who's name tag read Patty, looked up and sighed in exasperation. She rested the phone in the crook of her neck against her ear and typed on her computer.  
  
"Uh... Jimmy Derkins... floor eleven, room 18," she muttered, shuffling through her computer files.   
  
"Thank you," Elliot offered. She just glared at him, as if displeased by being interrupted.  
  
They walked down the hall to the elevators and waited as the elevator came down. No one said a word until it did.  
  
"Wonder what kind of information we'll get out of a psycho in the nut palace," Munch muttered as they stepped into the elevator. Fin tapped the eleventh floor button and glared at him. "Maybe this psycho in the nut palace had something to do with Ruben Burke's murder."  
  
"Well, considering the fact that he had been arrested and admitted at the time of Ruben Burke's death, the possibility of it being him are really slim," Munch snapped back.  
  
"Guys, it's not going to hurt to check and see what he knows, whether he's our killer or not," Olivia broke in.  
  
It was quiet for a moment before Elliot asked, "Olivia, did you get a good look at the two guys in the alley? Good enough to pick them out of a crowd?"  
  
Olivia scoffed. "Of course. You don't forget the faces of the people who want you dead," She quipped wryly. Elliot nodded. "Yeah, and I'd know the face of that guy on the corner anywhere. So there's two of us who can identify our perp. Let's see if Mr. Derkins can fill in the blanks."  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
"I-I really don't think that it would be such a good idea," The nurse identified as Kylie Olsen stuttered nervously. "Mr. Derkins isn't the friendliest person in the world. Interrogating him will probably set him off, and I don't want to have to deal with that."  
  
"Ms. Olsen, this is not an interrogation. We just want to ask him a few questions," Olivia corrected.  
  
Kylie sighed. "Well... okay. But I'm warning you, of all the mental patients in this ward, Mr. Derkins is the worst. He has a tendency to have uncontrollable anger spells and if he does, you have to move quick or else he'll..." She trailed off.  
  
"Or else he'll what?" Fin asked. Kylie sighed. "He says that he's killed before and he'll kill again. Somehow, I don't think that's too far above him."  
  
The detectives looked at each other. "Um... yeah, thanks. I think we'll be all right," Munch said. Kylie nodded, turned, and hurried down the hall, as if wanting to get as far away from the cops as she could.  
  
"That was reassuring," Olivia muttered, touching the gun on her belt. Elliot chuckled softly, seeing her action. "At least we'll know that if anything happens, Olivia won't hesitate to shoot."  
  
When the reached room 18, the words of Nurse Kylie floated back to them. The crazy psychopath on the other side of the door was dangerous, no doubt about it. After a few seconds, Munch sighed. "For crying out loud," He muttered, rapping on the door as if he was the only one with the nerve to do it.  
  
"Mr. Derkins? Are you in there?" He called. Silence responded him. Munch turned and shrugged. "I guess not." They began walking away when the door swung open. They jumped and swung around, coming face to face with a gruff looking old man. His cold green eyes were those of a killer, Olivia could tell immediately.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded. Elliot flashed his badge. "NYPD, Mr. Derkins. A word please?"  
  
Derkins looked suspiciously from the badge to the four detectives. "NYPD? A little out of your jurisdiction, aint ya?"  
  
"We need to ask you a few questions," Elliot repeated. "May we come in?"  
  
A moment passed before Derkins finally nodded. "Why the hell not?"  
  
The detectives filed into his room quietly. Olivia looked around the room and shivered, chills running down her spine. There was nothing in the room besides a bed and a window with heavy steel bars across it.   
  
Derkins slammed the door as Munch brought up the rear. He walked to his hard bed and flopped onto it, the metal bars scrapping loudly.  
  
"Damn mattress," He muttered under his breath. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"We want any information you have about the death of Ruben Burke," Fin said bluntly, not waiting for anyone else to speak because he knew they probably wouldn't.   
  
Derkins thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Don't know no Ruben Burke."  
  
"Like hell you don't. You were stalking him before you wound up here," Munch chimed in just as bravely as his partner. Derkins gave Munch a grin, revealing his blackened teeth. "Whatever you say, *sir*."  
  
There was a brief pause before Olivia spoke up. "Mr. Derkins, we know that you knew Ruben Burke. We need to know what happened to him. This is very important."  
  
Derkins looked up at Olivia and grinned. "Hey, whaddya know? It's Kitty, back from the dead. How's it goin', Kat?"  
  
Olivia set her jaw, her expression hardening. "I'm not Katarina. Just tell us what you know about Ruben Burke." Derkins chuckled under his breath. "Like hell you aren't. You and your crazy bitch mama were the ones who sent me to this nut house. I'd know those psycho brown eyes anywhere."  
  
Her hand falling to her gun, Olivia resisted the urge to whip it out and put it against the old man's temple and threaten to shoot unless he talked. "Mr. Derkins, I'm not going to ask you again. Tell me about Ruben Burke," She demanded, her teeth clenched.  
  
The room went dead silent. Finally, Derkins sighed loudly and leaned back against his pillows, folding his hands on his chest. "Ruben was an asshole. He stole my promotion right out from under me. So I followed him around. Wanted to find out as much as I could about him as I could. Try and put him out of business, until that bitch wife of his and her devil child started talking to the cops." Derkins smirked up at Olivia. "Ohhh, yeah. I remember Ruben talking about how you were a rape child. Makes you evil, in my mind."  
  
Suddenly, something inside Olivia snapped. All patience lost, she pulled out her gun and pointed it at Derkins. "Olivia!" Elliot, Munch and Fin jumped at her reaction, and Elliot grabbed the gun in her hands.   
  
"Listen to me, you cold-hearted, crazy bastard," Olivia whispered threateningly, "You tell us what happened to Ruben Burke or I put a bullet in your mind and you won't have to think I'm evil."  
  
Derkins looked over to Elliot, who still had a hold of the gun and laughed loudly. "Yeah right. Like he'll let you do it." Standing up, Derkins walked straight up to the gun. "Do it," He whispered daringly. "Death will be better than this hellhole."  
  
Olivia moved to cock the gun, but Elliot snatched it away quickly. Derkins laughed mockingly. "Well now, Kitty, you shouldn't be so quick to act. I might've given you some information, but now... well, I think I'll just let you figure it out on your own."  
  
Derkins walked backwards to his bed, the taunting grin never wiping off his face for a moment. But it disappeared quickly and was replaced with a look of surprise when Fin grabbed his collar and pushed him painfully against the wall. Fin's hand wrapped around Derkins's throat.  
  
"Listen here, Hannibal Lector," He growled. "You start talking, or I'll make sure that this hellhole gets worse for you."  
  
"Give us everything you've got, Jim," Munch said, stepping behind his partner's shoulder. "Don't take his threats lightly. He's seriously unstable."  
  
"Okay, fine. Ruben was always talking about his brother-in-law being some hotshot who threatened to kill him if he didn't dump Yvonne," Derkins spilled his guts, almost frightened as if realizing that if Fin moved his thumb two inches he'd be dead.  
  
"His brother-in-law, huh?" Fin asked, loosening his grip on the man. Derkins nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Who was this hotshot married to?"  
  
"His sister. His only sister, Fiona."  
  
"You're a liar. We were just at his sister's, and there was no indication that she was married."  
  
"Of course not. He doesn't let her wear a wedding ring. He made her keep her maiden name. The only reason he married her was to get back at Ruben."  
  
Fin turned and looked back at Munch, then at Elliot, who was trying to keep Olivia from jumping the old man. Raising an eyebrow, Fin turned back to Derkins.  
  
"Well, Ruben must've pissed off a lot of people. What was the reasoning behind this one?"  
  
Derkins gulped, still looking pale and nervous. He glanced down at the gun on Fin's belt. "He wanted Yvonne. He was going to marry her, but Ruben stepped in when he saw him trying to rape Kitty."  
  
Everyone in the room froze. Olivia stared at the old man in horror. Elliot, temporarily forgetting about Olivia's rage, stepped towards Derkins. "What do you mean, trying to rape Katarina?"  
  
Derkins nodded, suddenly looking eager to dole out information. "I meant what I said. He was trying to rape Katarina. Ruben stepped in and stopped him. Yvonne was so grateful, she married the guy."  
  
"What's this brother-in-law's name?" Olivia asked, anger flaring in the pit of her stomach.   
  
"Adolf Hitler," Derkins mumbled. Fin slammed Derkins against the wall hard. "This isn't the time for games, Derkins!" He yelled, his face reflecting his intense anger.  
  
"Okay, okay. Ronald Walter. I've even got a picture of him. This guy was insane, I wanted to make sure he didn't come around here coming after me."  
  
"Why would he give a damn about you?" Elliot asked, sounding almost humorous. Derkins made a face. "I just wanted to be safe. The guy's crazy."  
  
"And yet you're the one in the nut house," Fin replied. "Where's the picture?"  
  
"Under my bed in a shoebox."  
  
Olivia dropped to her knees instantly and pushed up the blankets of the bed, fishing around for a moment. Finally, she popped up with a shoebox and set it on the bed. Opening it, she pulled out the top picture and froze.  
  
"Oh my God. Elliot," Olivia put her hand against her mouth. She held up the picture to him. Elliot took it and raised an eyebrow. "It's the guy from the corner."  
  
"The same one who tried to kill me in the alley," Olivia whispered quietly.   
  
Fin finally let go of Derkins. "Thanks for your help," He said sarcastically.  
  
"You're so very welcome," Derkins made a face, just as sarcastic as Fin.   
  
"We need to keep this picture," Elliot muttered, not looking up from the face of the monster that had allegedly tried to rape his partner when she was four. The detectives walked out of the room without another word.  
  
Once they were out of the hospital, Fin turned to the other three. "We'd better go pay Ms. Burke another visit," He said softly. The others nodded in agreement. Elliot shoved the picture into the inside pocket of his coat and sighed. "Well, at least we have the name of the guy. It should be a breeze from there."  
  
***********************************************************************************  
  
"I told you, I'm not married!" Fiona jumped up from the couch and began to pace the room. "I can't believe you believed that... that psychopath!"  
  
"Well, so far, he's the only one who's story leads us back to the guy we're looking for," Olivia said, regaining her patience as best she could. "We need to know the truth."  
  
"Look, Ms. Burke, we don't care who you married or why. We just need to know where we can find him," Elliot said softly, trying to calm the woman.  
  
Fiona sighed. She put a hand to her forehead and sat back down. "Ronald and I are divorced," She said. "I had no idea what he'd done to Katarina. I swear I didn't..." She put a hand to her mouth as her voice began to break.  
  
"Do you know where we can find him?" Fin asked calmly.   
  
Fiona shook her head. "No. When I found out what he'd done to Kitty, I threw him out and told him never to come back. When I did he just... he just got this little smile," Fiona frowned, remembering. "It was like, he didn't care that his wife was divorcing him. He just, turned away and I haven't seen or heard from him since. He wasn't even back to pick up his things. So I just threw it all out." Fiona turned her tear filled eyes to the detectives. "Please. Whatever happens, just leave me out of it. I can't stand to face that... that monster."  
  
The detectives nodded in agreement. Fiona wiped her tears and cleared her throat. "Look, I don't mean to kick you out or anything, but I really need to be alone."  
  
"No problem, Ms. Burke," Elliot said, standing up with everyone else. "But there's just one more thing."  
  
Fiona nodded. "What is it?"  
  
"Did you and Ronald have a son?"  
  
Fiona shook her head. "No. We didn't have any children. I divorced him a year after we got married... when I found out he killed Ruben. It was a few months after his death."  
  
Fin and Munch looked at each other. "You told us that you were sure it was Jim Derkins," Fin said, his voice hardening. "That's obstruction of justice, Ms. Burke, you could go to jail." Fiona nodded. "I know. I was scared. I didn't think that Jim would talk about Ronald."  
  
"Anyway, back to the subject of sons," Munch said, changing subjects. "Did Ronald have any children from previous marriages or conquests or prostitutes or whatever?"  
  
Fiona nodded. "Yeah. He had a son, his name was Tyler. Ty's in his late twenties, maybe early thirties."  
  
"Like the other guy in the alley," Olivia murmured to Elliot. He nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Ms. Burke."  
  
As they exited the house, Elliot pulled out his cell phone and dialed. After a minute of waiting, he said, "Yeah Captain, It's Elliot. We're coming back tonight, but in the meantime we need you to run a search for us. Look up Ronald Walter and Tyler Walter. Thanks."  
  
Elliot hung up and slid his phone into his coat. He looked at Olivia, Munch and Fin. "If we moved quick enough, we might be able to catch the bastards before they skip town."  
  
"All we know is that they were in New York a few days ago," Munch said. "That's plenty of time for a crook to skip, Elliot."  
  
Elliot sighed. "Then we'd better start praying for a miracle.  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
From: unknown@personalmail.net  
  
To: Baker@personalmail.net  
  
Subject: (unknown)  
  
Date: April 9, 2003  
  
Received from: 776.287.2973  
  
Message:  
  
Did you lead her back to us?  
  
From: Baker@personalmail.net  
  
To: unknown@personalmail.net  
  
Subject: (unknown)  
  
Date: April 9, 2003  
  
Received from: 239.872.8654  
  
Message:  
  
Don't worry, Ronald. I made sure that I mentioned you and Ty. They're going right back to New York. You can pick her up there.  
  
From unknown@personalmail.net  
  
To: Baker@personalmail.net  
  
Subject: (unknown)  
  
Date: April 9, 2003  
  
Received from: 776.287.2973  
  
Message:  
  
Good work, Fiona 


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, the exhausted detectives were back in New York, in the precinct working out all that had happened in Arizona.  
  
"That was a trip well worth taking," Munch muttered, yawning. "So we found out that this guys names are Ronald and Tyler Walter, neither residents of New York. Both were born in Russia. That sound familiar, Olivia?"  
  
Olivia nodded furiously. Things were starting to come back into place. "I've been thinking a lot about that guy's face. Ronald Walter's. Take off a few years and put some more color in his hair and he's the guy who killed Ruben for sure."  
  
Everyone went silent. "That's right. You were there, weren't you?" Elliot said quietly. Olivia nodded, willing herself not to cry. "Yeah. Ronald used to scare me. I didn't like the way he looked at me or the way he touched me. And he had a Russian accent, so I couldn't always understand what he was saying."  
  
"Do we have a location on either these people?" Cragen asked. As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Fin walked passed them into the interrogation room with a young man in a black suit. Tyler Walter. Fin shot them a quick grin before leading him into interrogation.  
  
Munch smirked. "Yep."  
  
Moments later, Elliot, Fin, and Olivia were all in the interrogation room with Tyler Walter. The young man looked calm, completely confident that he had done nothing wrong.  
  
"Hey Tyler. You remember me, right?" Olivia asked with a wry smile, sitting on the table across from him. Tyler looked up at her with cool eyes. "Of course I do, Katarina."  
  
"Oh, but I'm sure you don't remember me," Olivia said, leaning forward slightly. "My mother and I left before you were even born."  
  
"Yes. Well, my father's told me a lot about you."  
  
Elliot and Fin surrounded Tyler, one on either side. Elliot leaned in so that he was about two inches from Tyler's face. "We know that your father killed Ruben Burke," He murmured threateningly. "We know that you and your father tried to kill Olivia a few nights ago."  
  
"But you two are pretty stupid for a couple of crooks," Fin said, getting as close to Tyler on the other side as Elliot was. "You had plenty of time to skip town. But you stayed, and we caught you."  
  
Tyler looked over at Fin; his eyes were expressionless. "All part of the plan." He said in an accent that sent chills down Olivia's spine.  
  
Elliot gave him a menacing smirk. "I'm sure it is. I'm sure the two of you just worked out some big, elaborate plot to avoid getting arrested. But one way or another, we will get your father."  
  
"Oh? You detectives are so stupid that you didn't even see what was happening in front of your faces."  
  
"And what exactly was happening in front of our faces?" Olivia asked in a low voice. Tyler gazed up at her. "You breezed right past our boss. The one in Scottsdale. The real one who killed Ruben Burke. But now it doesn't matter. Now it's too late."  
  
"If it's too late, give us your boss's name," Fin said simply.  
  
"Fiona Burke. She loaded the gun, she pointed it at him, and she fired. If your mother hadn't shown up, she would've killed you, too." Tyler looked up at Olivia. Olivia glared at him. "Cut the crap. I know that your father killed Ruben. I was there, kid. I remember."  
  
"Of course you do. My dad was the one who was holding you back: the one who was keeping you away from Ruben so Fiona could kill him. He was there. But he didn't kill Ruben Burke."  
  
The three detectives looked at him hard. A moment passed before another word was said. "All right, let's say that we believe you," Elliot started, moving away from the young man and sitting on the table in front of him. "We'll be making a call to the Scottsdale police to go pick up Fiona Burke and then she'll tell us exactly where your father is."  
  
"That won't be possible. Fiona's dead."  
  
"Yeah, keep on lying. We were just there in Arizona. We talked to her," Fin growled angrily at him. Tyler shook his head. "That's what I mean when I say that you cops are stupid. My father took a flight down to Scottsdale the same time that you were coming back. Fiona's the only one who he's killed."  
  
There was a shocked pause. "Why kill Fiona?" Olivia asked, shaking slightly. "What's the point? If you hadn't told us that she killed him."  
  
"Then my father would've taken the heat for a crime he didn't commit," Tyler finished.  
  
"Yeah, but now your father's going down for another crime. One he did commit," Fin tried to stare down Tyler, but it didn't seem to be working. Tyler shook his head. "No. My father killed himself right after killing Fiona. He was guilty of murder then. He couldn't live with himself."  
  
"Yeah, and your father would've been just as guilty if he had killed Olivia," Elliot stated, glaring at Tyler. Tyler nodded. His eyes turned sad, showing emotion for the first time. "He was going to do the same thing. He was going to kill Olivia to keep her from saying that he had killed Ruben. He wasn't going to be put in prison for a crime that he didn't commit."  
  
Olivia shook her head, not believing her ears. "I couldn't even remember what had happened until I saw your father," She said. "So why even say anything to me? I wouldn't have known anyway."  
  
Tyler nodded; tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. "That's what I told him. But he wouldn't listen. Said no one forgets a murder. So he tracked you, waited until the right moment, and tried to kill you."  
  
"But so did you."  
  
Tyler nodded again. "I didn't want to. You said it yourself detective. You left before I was even born."  
  
The room went silent. Olivia moved off the table and walked around by Tyler. "Tyler, if you didn't want to kill me, then this isn't your fault," She said softly. "But you do understand that we're going to charge you with attempted murder and you'll probably spend time in prison?"  
  
Tyler nodded. "I assumed that. I'll accept my punishment." He stood up and faced Elliot. "So arrest me."  
  
Elliot nodded, looking at the young man. This all seemed to have taken forever, and yet, now the mystery was solved. And the wrong man was going to prison. "All right. Tyler Walter, you're under arrest for attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law."  
  
Three days later, Olivia stepped out of her apartment into the cold city air. She shivered and began walking briskly down the street. She turned hearing a car horn and grinned when she saw Elliot. *Punctual as always,* She smiled to herself.  
  
Elliot rolled down his window and smiled. "Hey. Need a ride?"  
  
"Yeah. Thanks." Olivia climbed into the passenger seat and smiled at Elliot.  
  
Elliot grinned at her. "Morning, Ms. Benson. Or is it Ms. Montgomery now?"  
  
Olivia laughed lightly. "No. Katarina Montgomery died four years ago. I'm Olivia Benson, no matter what."  
  
Elliot smiled. "Yeah. Doesn't matter that you stole someone else's name."  
  
Olivia turned to him, looking puzzled. "What?"  
  
"Remember Cheryl Benson in Scottsdale?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Elliot slowed to a stop at a red light. He turned to her. "Her late husband worked at the Scottsdale police department. He gave you the name Olivia Benson. It was his daughter's name, who died saving one of her friends from a river when she was eight."  
  
"That's sad," Olivia said, her voice quiet as if showing respect to the little girl she was named after.  
  
"I don't know how he knew," Elliot murmured, hitting the gas as the light turned green. Olivia turned to him.  
  
"How he knew what?"  
  
"How he knew that the girl who he named after his hero daughter was going to be a hero, too."  
  
A smile spread slowly across Olivia's face. She reached over and took his hand in hers. Elliot grinned and squeezed her hand tightly. No matter who she was, Olivia, Katarina, anyone, she was still her.  
  
Sorry for the terribly abrupt ending. I was just running out of ideas. Anyway, I hope that you liked it. I really enjoyed writing it. See you next time! ~Forever Fairy 


End file.
